An American at Hogwarts
by AssistanttotheRegionalManager
Summary: A new transfer student from America goes to Hogwarts. Begins at the end of GoF. GeorgeOC. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1: Introduction

An American at Hogwarts

A new transfer student from America goes to Hogwarts. Begins at the end of GoF. GeorgeOC.

Author's Note: Hope you like this story. This is my first fic, so be kind when you review (which you will out of the kindness of your hearts). I don't own Harry Potter. I own Liz and her family, but that's it. Oh, and whoever guesses where I got the names for my characters gets a free lollipop!

As Liz stepped off of the plane into Heathrow Airport, she immediately noticed the large man waiting at the gate. Really, he was rather hard to miss. He was at least twice as tall as the rather frightened-looking man standing next to him. His hairy brown suit didn't exactly blend into the crowd, either. As soon as she had taken in his strange appearance, she noticed that he was holding a sign with "Elizabeth Dashwood" written in large untidy handwriting. She sighed and turned to her aunt and uncle, who were staring at the gargantuan man in front of them.

"That's us!" she unnecessarily pointed out to her still-flabbergasted guardians. She walked up to the man.

"I'm Elizabeth Dashwood. Liz, actually." Liz was nervous as she approached the intimidating man, but her anxiety vanished as soon as he spoke.

"Good to meet yeh, Liz! 'M Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. And these must be yer parents, eh?" Hagrid boomed in a loud friendly voice.

"My aunt and uncle, actually, Jim and Pam Morland."

"Well, pleasure ter meet yeh, at any rate. Are yeh ready ter go?"

Liz nodded, and the three followed Hagrid out of the airport into a small alley. Hagrid walked over to a moldy cardboard box.

"Now come over here and hold on tight." he said. Liz and her aunt and uncle all grabbed the box, which instantly transported them to a large iron gate.

"Welcome ter Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" Hagrid said as he smiled widely.

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Professor Dumbledore stared kindly over his glasses at Liz, sitting nervously on the other side of his desk. In front of him were three pieces of parchment: Liz's letter applying to Hogwarts; a letter of recommendation from the principal of her former school, the Chicago Institute of Wizardry; and a report of all of her former grades.

"Well, Miss Dashwood, you should know that this is rather unusual for Hogwarts. We choose our students, not the other way around. But from what I have seen here, you are obviously very talented, and your principal is convinced that you have nothing more to learn from their fine institution. So I think that we can make an exception to our usual rule. We would be delighted to admit you into Hogwarts next term." Dumbledore smiled over the desk at Liz's barely-constrained joyous reaction.

"Thank you, sir!"

"So, now I will need to talk to your aunt and uncle about the more boring aspects of your enrollment at Hogwarts. However, I don't wish to bore you with the yammering of an old man. Would you prefer a tour of the castle?" Liz nodded happily, too excited to say anything in fear that it would come out as a ridiculous squawk.

Dumbledore smiled mischievously. "I think I know just the people to show you around. After all, they know this castle as well as anyone here . . ."


	2. Chapter 2: The Tour

Author's Note: Hey everybody! I got 23 hits and 3 whole reviews in one day! I feel so loved. Hope you like this chapter better than the last; that was sort of an introductory chapter. No one guessed the names, so I'll just tell you. It was a pretty hard question. Elizabeth, Dashwood and Morland came from Jane Austen, my favorite author (Elizabeth Bennet- Pride and Prejudice, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood- Sense and Sensibility, and Catherine Morland- Northanger Abbey). Jim and Pam I got from The Office. Don't worry, reviewers, I'll still give you lollipops! hands cyber-lollipops to her 3 beloved reviewers You guys are my heroes!

The Forgotten Alchemist: I put a little more of Liz's character into this chapter. I think that the next chapter will really reveal a lot of her past, though. Elizabeth from Pirates of the Caribbean was a good guess, because I love those movies! I'm thinking about writing a fic about that next. Thanks for the review!

Katherine-The-Crowned: Now you can see if your guess was right. Hope you like this chapter!

PadfootStripQuidditch: Thanks for the review! Glad you like it.

And now, for Chapter Two! Oh, I don't own Harry Potter. That belongs to J.K. Rowling. Or the name Chelsea Dagger. That belongs to The Fratellis (great band, listen to them. Maybe they won't mind me stealing the name if I promote them) Enjoy!

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Fred and George Weasley were sitting in the Great Hall, hardly able to eat through their laughter. There were some people were staring at them, but most were too used to the twins' jovial behavior to notice. A select few knew why exactly it was they were laughing; those people were similarly amused.

George looked up from the table to see Professor Dumbledore walking through the large doors straight towards the Gryffindor table. However, it was not Dumbledore that caught his eye. A beautiful girl a few years younger than him was timidly following the headmaster. She was very petite, probably no taller than 5'2". She was dressed in Muggle clothes: a pale pink sweater with a black skirt that almost reached her knees and tall stiletto heels which did not add much to her stature. As they approached the table, Fred looked up. The color drained from his face.

"Oh, crap. They brought out the big guns. Dumbledore himself!" Fred started looking around the hall, avoiding the headmaster's gaze. Lee Jordan broke into silent giggles. George continued to stare at the girl behind Dumbledore, not worrying about the punishment Fred thought was inevitable.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen--" Dumbledore started, but was cut off by a panicky Fred.

"We didn't do it, we swear! Ask anyone—well, maybe just Lee—we're totally innocent!"

"I highly doubt that, Mr. Weasley. However, this has nothing to do with the incident earlier today. I have no physical proof that it was indeed you that bewitched the suits of armor to burst into the classrooms and declare undying love for the teachers. Plus, I think it would be quite unfair to punish students for something that gave me the best laugh I've had in a long time." He leaned in closer and whispered with a small smile, "Especially a certain Potions professor's reaction."

The twins both grinned widely. Snape's reaction had indeed been side-splitting. They were quite certain, however, that it would not be quite as amusing if he found out who exactly had made the suit of armor attempt to passionately kiss him. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be terribly difficult to guess who the culprit was, and they had Potions in the afternoon. Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat to bring them out of their musings.

"The reason I wanted to talk to you was to ask you to do a favor for me. This is Elizabeth Dashwood. She will be transferring here from America next year. I hoped you two would be kind enough to show her around the castle this afternoon, as you two are quite the experts. I would, of course, let Professor Snape know that you would be missing his class on my orders." Fred's eyes lit up at the prospect of skipping Potions—with permission. George had clearly not heard a word that Dumbledore had said, being too focused on staring at Liz.

"We would be delighted to, Professor." Fred said quickly. He nudged George, who managed a small nod.

"Excellent! I must go talk to her aunt and uncle now. Would you show her around until dinnertime? There is quite enough of Hogwarts to last that long, at least." Dumbledore smiled as he walked off, leaving Liz with the twins.

"I'm Fred Weasley, and this dunderhead is my brother, George." Fred said after an awkward silence.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Liz."

"Right, then, let's go, shall we?" Fred said as he led her and George to the doors of the Great Hall.

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Liz appraised the twins silently as they left the hall. They were quite cute, truth be told. And they were very friendly, Fred more than George. Fred was doing all the talking. But maybe George was just shy. Or a mute. Liz suddenly thought with a smile that Chelsea Dagger, her best friend from Chicago, would have thrown herself all over the twins—didn't really matter which one—if she had been there.

Liz thoughts wandered to home. She had been top of the class in the Chicago Institute, easily getting all A's without much study. She got bored quickly, even when she took all of the advanced classes that the school had to offer. It wasn't that the Institute was a bad school; it was just that she needed more of a challenge. That's why she decided to write to Hogwarts, the best wizarding school in the world. She hadn't expected much, she had just wanted to try. She had been floored when she had received an owl from Professor Dumbledore setting up the meeting today.

Fred caught Liz's attention again with his fake tour guide voice. He was still having fun with that, even though they had been wandering for over half and hour.

"And to your left, you can see the Charms classroom. In the Charms classroom, Charms class is held. The ghosts of 42 students who were brutally murdered by a golf club-wielding psycho still reside in that room."

"Really?"

Fred smiled. "No. I was just making sure you were listening. Over here, we have . . ."

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While Fred was leading Liz around and telling her about the school, George walked behind silently. Liz was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her, but unfortunately, he couldn't bring himself to talk to her, either. Every time he tried, his mouth would go dry and his mind would go blank. Everything about her was perfect, from her silky brown hair to her vast green eyes.

Fred noticed his brother's enamor with a small smirk. He had an idea. A wonderful, sinister idea.

"Aw, crap," he exclaimed during the middle of his explanation of the Potions dungeon. "I've just remembered I have a four foot essay due for McGonagall tomorrow morning and I haven't started on it."

"What are you talking about? We didn't get an essay." George finally spoke confusedly.

"Er, I got an extra assignment about the proper use of magic for transfiguring Angelina's robes into—well, never mind. The point is I have to go. George, maybe you can continue showing Liz about."

"But--"

"Sorry, Liz. It was really nice to meet you!" Fred yelled behind him as he ran off, crying in laughter. He only wished he could watch the rest of the tour.


	3. Chapter 3: The Kitchens

Sorry it took FOREVER to update, everyone! I'm a bad person! I just got terrible writers block. I couldn't think of anything! Plus, I had to read Deathly Hallows. Then I had to throw Deathly Hallows across the room in a fit of rage. Then I had to decide that I really did like Deathly Hallows, even though J.K. Rowling is a sadistic, murderous pooface. But she's still pretty awesome. Thank you all for reading my story! I feel loved!

To my lovely reviewers: Katherine-the-Crowned, The Forgotten Alchemist, Akira-sama, Flipflopper333, Lovebuggy, last-blue mage, Krazie.Glue., DMG5440- you are all my heroes! Hope you like this chapter!

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George stared in panic as his brother ran down the hall. How could he? Fred knew that he was terrible around girls; as cool as he was most of the time, he couldn't help stuttering and blushing when talking to a pretty girl. It was like his Achilles' heel or something.

Obviously, he couldn't just stand there hoping Fred would come back. He would have to talk to Liz.

"So, er, I guess we can, um . . ." George was at a loss for words. He had no idea where to take her next. He thought she was probably bored with looking at the classroom doors. Not to mention that his inability to speak would make things rather awkward. He thought longingly of his favorite spot in the castle. Why couldn't he just—

Wait a moment. Why _couldn't_ he?

"Would you like to sneak into the kitchens and grab some food?" George asked.

"That sounds perfect." Liz smiled. She hadn't had anything to eat since a small bag of pretzels that morning on the plane. George turned and headed down to the painting of the fruit. They entered the kitchen quietly. Liz smiled as the house elves crowded around them with platters of delectable-looking food. Her grin widened as a small squeak sounded over the heads of the other house elves.

"Mr. George, sir! So glad to see you again!"

"Hey, Dobby, how's it going?" George smiled. Harry Potter was not the only one who had made friends with Dobby. "This is Liz Dashwood. She's going to Hogwarts next year. She'll be in Harry's year." Dobby's eyes widened at the mention of his hero.

"Oh, miss! You will get to meet Harry Potter! You are lucky, you are! Harry Potter is the greatest and most noble--"

George cut Dobby off. "Yeah, yeah, we know, Harry's brilliant. Hey, could you maybe bring us some pie? What kind of pie do you like, Liz?"

"Umm, how about chocolate cream?" Liz smiled as three house elves instantly brought her and George plates of chocolate cream pie, along with two tall glasses of milk. "Nice service!"

"Here, you want to sit down?" George asked as he led Liz over to a couch in front of the fireplace. "You'd think they wanted kids to sneak into the kitchens, wouldn't you? Putting a couch here and all." Liz laughed.

"I guess so. The house-elves don't seem to mind." She finished a large bite of pie before continuing. "Hogwarts seems like a really great place."

"Yeah, it really is. I love it, anyway. I'm a bit sad that next year's my last."

"What do you think you'll do after school?"

"I dunno." George said truthfully. "Fred and I have been thinking about starting a business. A joke shop, actually. But my mum wouldn't be too thrilled with that, she wants us to go into the Ministry."

"I think a joke shop would be great. You should do it!" Liz said. "At least you have an idea what you want to do. I have absolutely no clue."

"You'll figure it out, don't worry. What do your parents do? I have always thought the first step was eliminating the family business, myself."

"Actually, my parents are dead." Liz said quietly. At the horrified and embarrassed look on George's face, she quickly added, "Don't worry about it. I'm not offended or anything. It happened a long time ago. I don't even remember them, to be honest."

"I'm so sorry." George finally stuttered. "What ha—do you mind me asking what happened?"

"No, it's fine. They were on vacation here in London a few months after I was born. They were actually coming to visit Hogwarts. They wanted me to come here, see. They got in the way of a group of Death Eaters attacking some Muggles, and they were killed." Despite her previous protests, Liz's voice broke slightly at the end of her story. George looked shocked.

"Liz, that's awful. I'm so sorry."

Liz regained her composure and continued. "Honestly, it's not a big deal. Stuff like that happens, you know? I--"

George suddenly threw his hand over Liz's mouth. Liz quickly saw why. The kitchen entrance had opened quite violently and two people had walked in. Silently, Liz tapped George and herself on the head, casting a Disillusionment Charm over both of them. They now blended in perfectly with the couch. However, their cover was almost blown when they saw who had burst in and why.

Hermione Granger had entered the room, followed closely by Viktor Krum. Krum looked confused as Hermione pulled him forcefully into the room.

"Vhat are ve doing here, Hermy-own-ninny?"

But his question was quickly answered as Hermione pulled him into a deep and passionate kiss. George and Liz held back laughter with extreme difficulty. George had to bite his fist to prevent an outburst.

They had to wait for about five minutes, until Hermione said breathlessly, "I have to get to class now. I'll see you later, okay?"

"O- okay." Krum stuttered. They kissed one more time before leaving the room.

As soon as the painting closed again, George and Liz burst out in uncontrollable hysterics. George was literally in tears.

"This—would—be so—much—funnier—if you knew—Hermione." George gasped between fits of laughter.

As soon as he could breathe again, George turned to Liz, wiping the tears out of his eyes. "Well, what would you like to do next?"


End file.
